Task placeholders

Placeholders automatically insert the current period (month, quarter, or year) into recurring task titles. Instead of manually updating task names each cycle, set up a placeholder once and Uku fills in the correct value every time the task is generated.

• Any team member with permission to edit tasks in a client Workflow.
• Company Admins and Company Owners can add placeholders to company templates in Settings & Apps → Tasks → Workflow templates.
• Placeholders only work with recurring tasks.

• {{last_year}} — previous calendar year (e.g. 2024)
• {{this_year}} — current calendar year (e.g. 2025)
• {{next_year}} — next calendar year (e.g. 2026)
• {{last_month}} — previous month as a two-digit number (e.g. 12)
• {{this_month}} — current month as a two-digit number (e.g. 01)
• {{next_month}} — next month as a two-digit number (e.g. 02)

• {{x_months_ago}} — the month X months before the task period
• {{x_months_ahead}} — the month X months after the task period
• {{today}} — today’s date (formatted to your locale)

Replace X with a number, for example {{3_months_ago}}. Left as x, the placeholder isn’t filled in.

1. Open the client profile and select the Workflow tab.

2. Click Edit plan.

3. Select Add task or click an existing recurring task to edit it.

4. Set the task’s recurrence (monthly, quarterly, or yearly) — placeholders only work on recurring tasks, so set this first.

5. In the task title field, type the title and the placeholder.

   Example: VAT return {{this_month}} {{this_year}}

6. Click Confirm plan to save.

If the task appears on the dashboard on January 15, 2025, it will show as “VAT return 01 2025”.

1. Select Settings & Apps from the main navigation.

2. Click the Tasks app.

3. Open Workflow templates.

4. Create a new template or edit an existing one.

5. Add placeholders to the task title.

   Example: Monthly bookkeeping {{this_month}} {{this_year}}

6. Save the template.

When you apply this template to clients, each generated task will automatically use the correct month and year.

Editing a placeholder in the title only affects tasks created in the future. Tasks that have already been generated keep their original names.

1. Open the Clients view.
2. Select the clients whose Workflow you want to update.
3. From the menu, select Plan → Replace.
4. Pick the task template that has the updated placeholders.
5. Confirm the replacement.

Check that the task has a recurrence set (monthly, quarterly, or yearly). Placeholders only work with recurring tasks.

Placeholders are based on the task’s start date. Check that the start date matches the period you expect.

Placeholder edits only affect tasks created in the future. Already-generated tasks need to be edited manually if needed.

Make sure the syntax is exact — double curly braces with no spaces inside — and that you are using one of the available placeholder names listed above.